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No speedo and odo


Strato_54
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Today I made the discovery that the speedo and odo are not working. Was just moving the pathy out of the shop and around the yard and realized at 3k rpm I had no speedo. After doing circles in the yard the ODO and trip won’t work either. All of the other gauges work. I tried reading the codes and besides a bank 1 knock sensor there’s no VSS codes. I did pull apart my dash to finish a few LED lights so I did have the cluster out and unplugged. I tried unplugging and reseating the plugs with no avail. Any ideas? 

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1 hour ago, Remus92 said:

When mine went out like this. It was the speed sensor on the transmission. (96 automatic) replaced the sensor and it was reading both speedo and odo again

as much as i would love to throw parts at it im pretty sure its not that. it was working before i pulled the dash if i remember correctly. so maybe its something else. is there a fuse for the dash somewhere maybe?

 

i guess i should be asking what should i look at first to make sure i didnt fry something

Edited by Strato_54
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Probably inside the cluster. Either you don't have a good connection between the harness and cluster for the speedometer or it is possible that the speedometer has an internal failure. 

 

I doubt the speed sensor or wiring is at fault since the ECU apparently is getting the information. It will throw a VSS code if it can't tell the speed. It won't know and couldn't care less if the speedometer in the cluster is dead. That is for newer cars where the cluster is another module on that network. 

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8 minutes ago, Mr_Reverse said:

Probably inside the cluster. Either you don't have a good connection between the harness and cluster for the speedometer or it is possible that the speedometer has an internal failure. 

 

I doubt the speed sensor or wiring is at fault since the ECU apparently is getting the information. It will throw a VSS code if it can't tell the speed. It won't know and couldn't care less if the speedometer in the cluster is dead. That is for newer cars where the cluster is another module on that network. 

i read somewhere that a good way to test the sensor is that if cruise control doesnt take over then its a bad sensor? which would make sense if true and i might try that tomorrow just to narrow it down for peace of mind. if it were the speedo itself what would be a good plan of attack to check that? all i did then i took it apart was pulled the 3 main plugs pulled the dash changed the bulbs plugged it in made sure they worked and put it together. its was a half hour later i noticed it was not working. like i said i did try to reseat the plugs and didnt work. maybe try that again idk. is there a special way to check wiring and or the speedo in the cluster?

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If you have access to a cheap scan tool or better code reader that can show data, you can see if the VSS is sending a signal because both the ECU and TCU use that data. 

 

If you have tried unplugging and replugging the connectors, you might want to check for damage on the connector pins and sockets. If the VSS is working and the connections are good, then you might have to go into the cluster and inspect the speedometer itself for anything visible. If you have access to another cluster, you can try plugging that one in to see if it works. 

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1 hour ago, Mr_Reverse said:

If you have access to a cheap scan tool or better code reader that can show data, you can see if the VSS is sending a signal because both the ECU and TCU use that data. 

 

If you have tried unplugging and replugging the connectors, you might want to check for damage on the connector pins and sockets. If the VSS is working and the connections are good, then you might have to go into the cluster and inspect the speedometer itself for anything visible. If you have access to another cluster, you can try plugging that one in to see if it works. 

all i have is an obd2 code reader and thats about it. i wanna try and find one thats a bit on the cheaper side that can read data but who knows. i also dont have access to another cluster since no one else i know local has an R50 and the really good junk yard down the street from my shop recently closed so i cant go there either. ill try looking at the connections closer and see what that looks like. if i go into the cluster to check that out what do i look for? just anything that could be fried basically?

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More likely something loose or missing. It was working until you pulled it out, the shaking it got in the removal and install could have knocked a loose solder joint out. 

 

I have and use a Snap-on Zeus that I use daily at work, but it is anything but inexpensive. I also have an Autel Autolink AL329 that I got a while back for $70 on a tool truck. I use that little thing a lot too, mostly when doing test drives to reset the emissions monitors to see when the car is ready for testing. It is nothing great, but does offer some data monitoring. You can probably find something that lets you use your phone for basic OBD2 data and code reading for pretty cheap. 

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1 hour ago, Mr_Reverse said:

More likely something loose or missing. It was working until you pulled it out, the shaking it got in the removal and install could have knocked a loose solder joint out. 

 

I have and use a Snap-on Zeus that I use daily at work, but it is anything but inexpensive. I also have an Autel Autolink AL329 that I got a while back for $70 on a tool truck. I use that little thing a lot too, mostly when doing test drives to reset the emissions monitors to see when the car is ready for testing. It is nothing great, but does offer some data monitoring. You can probably find something that lets you use your phone for basic OBD2 data and code reading for pretty cheap. 

yeah after i posted my last reply i remembered the bluedriver OBD reader on amazon. i remember downloading the app and playing with it and it seemed like it read a lot of data so maybe ill buy that since this past year it seems all of the vehicles my family owns wants to no longer work. armada has huge exhaust leaks through the whole system and a flashing airbag light. my dads 6.0 blew a HG in January in my school parking lot (typical 6.0 fashion but it only has 137 km so pretty early lmao) and that didnt want to run because it took out the HPOP and all the sensors along with it. tomorrow when i get up to my shop ill take it apart again and ill check out all of the pins. i did check on friday when i reseated the plugs that there were no wires hanging out of the plastic harness itself but ill check again and ill look closer then i did the first time. hopfully its something small as i still need to get it inspected for the out of province inspection which should be happening here soon when i get a new rad and windshield. 

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Found the fix. I pulled it apart again today unplugged the plugs and checked all the pins. All looked good plugged back in. Still didn’t fix it. I then tried tightening the screws that make contact with the traces for the speedo and I was able to get a good half turn out of all 4 around it. I also did the screws around the tach and fixed the problem. The contact points did look a little spotty where it made contact with air as copper would. 

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2 hours ago, Mr_Reverse said:

Glad it was a simple and cheap fix. You have adventures ahead with the rest of the fleet.

oh man do i ever! at least it gives me something to do lmao

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  • 1 month later...

Well it happened again, and it gets a little weird. It stopped working the other day so I tried the same fix as the first time and that worked. Then it happened again. I tapped in the plastic and it spring to life. But then I got a p0500 code and the dash wasn’t working. I cleared the code and punched it again and then it sprung back up to working. Why?

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2 hours ago, Mr_Reverse said:

Probably a loose solder joint internal to the speedometer. The vibration will  cause the contact to come and go. You might want to pull the speedometer out and reflow the solder joints inside. 

i might do that on friday. but the thing is i have my drivers test on monday and i cant work on it until friday because of school and what not so i dont want to tear into it a few days before and then have it not work at all. i might just do that because im probably over thinking it since ive never taken this apart before. would that also give me the code p0500 then if that was the issue and theres a bad joint somewhere?

 

EDIT: just watched a video on how to take it apart so ill just try it tomorrow or something and hope that works out

Edited by Strato_54
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i pulled it apart and got to the module. i checked over all the solder points and they look like new so i didnt bother. all the resistors on the inside looked alright too so i just cleaned off the screw contact points a little bit and now im just gonna wait and see. if it does it again ill do the solder points regardless next time if it ever does do it again. i did not see anything loose either so maybe jarring it enough to make better contact with the screws helped. time will tell.

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